The Cowichan Green Community (CGC) is launching a fundraising campaign they say will help in their re-branding strategy and build further engagement to build a healthier, resilient local food system.
Cowichan Green Community has been working with local food producers and processors to help bring a focus on local BC-grown ingredients, and they say with their project now entering phase two they’re ready to expand services.
“The new Beverly Street Food Hub is the future home to the reFRESH marketplace, teaching farms, plant nurseries, and community gardens,” they say. “It features a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) ready commercial processing and teaching kitchen, as well as aggregation and food facilities.
“Local food producers and processors can scale their operations while ensuring compliance with industry standards and benefit from workshops, training, and collaborative opportunities that foster innovation and sustainability.”
The goal of the fundraiser is to reach $975,000 to help build the project, and so far, they’ve raised $325,000 to help rebrand their logo, build a new website, as well as support the project.
Photo credit: Justin Baumgardner, VistaRadio
Executive director Vanessa Daether says the rebrand was a move to help provide a clearer picture of all the services they offer and open the doors for a new demographic.
“The apple logo, that we had for 10 years, paints one picture of our history,” she says. “When we looked at shifting to the food hub, it’s a shift in our operations, we have a huge commercial kitchen and warehouse.
“It’s a very dynamic space, and we wanted something that would speak to younger generations.”
Photo credit: Justin Baumgardner, VistaRadio
Daether says the expansion comes at a pivotal time when there is uncertainty around the world, and food security continues to be a major concern, which is why local services like these are so important.
“When we look at our program from a food security lens, we want to increase community access to food whether that is food through our reFRESH program or local vegetables produced on our farm, we want to increase access,” she says. “This way individuals, and households, can get the food they need for a happy and fulfilling life.”
Currently, CGC has more than 100 clients in the community and more program participants, and they hope with the new facility it’ll continue to grow substantially.
The farm is located in North Cowichan on a 3.5-acre site.
